This invention relates to the action of a subsurface fishing lure which simulates the movement of a minnow swimming through the water.
The desirability of an artificial lure of this type which can simulate a minnow with an oscillating tail along with a zigzagging and wiggling action of the body has long been recognized. Representative prior art includes Royer U.S. Pat. No. 1,031,149, Haas U.S. Pat. No. 2,008,250 and Keeler U.S. Pat. No. 2,561,515.
An early attempt to simulate the appearance and action of a minnow is illustrated by the fishing lure of Royer U.S. Pat. No. 1,031,149. This lure is cut from a flat sheet material in the silhouette of a minnow. A fishing line is attached to the front end and a hook trails from the rear end of the lure. However, this lure, although it may look like a minnow, lacks the action of a minnow and it simply spins through the water without the zigzag or wiggling action of the body or the oscillations of the tail.
Next, Haas U.S. Pat. No. 2,008,250 developed an action attachment to fit any conventional lure. The attachment consists of a semicylindrical plate of transparent material with a weight connected to the bottom of the plate. The weight coacts with the concavity and forward inclination of the plate when mounted on the front tip of the lure to cause the lure to assume a downward direction during retrieval and to maintain an upright position in the water. The semicylindrical plate attachment eliminates the spinning effect of Royer, but a further test of the lure shows that the lure action is limited to a downwardly bucking motion of the body.
More recently, Keeler U.S. Pat. No. 2,561,515 proposed a minnow-shaped lure of a flat sheet material with a directing plate mounted on the front tip of the head and a stabilizing plate mounted on the upper part of the tail. The stabilizing plate on the tail produces a bucking motion similar to Haas, and the angle of the directing plate on the nose allows the lure to achieve a greater depth when the line is being reeled in after casting.
None of these proposals, however, shows a subsurface fishing lure which simulates the natural actions of a minnow.